Sonoma County residents hurt in fiery Napa crash

December 28, 2013, 6:02PM

12/28/2013

Four Sonoma County residents were injured Saturday morning when their vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire on Highway 29 just south of St. Helena, CHP said.

Taylor Huff, 18, of Santa Rosa, was driving a 1991 Jeep south near Whitehall Lane at about 6:45 a.m. when she fell asleep, drifted into oncoming traffic, then veered off the shoulder and into a tree where it caught fire, according to the CHP.

A passing motorist, Jose G. Franco, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flames as two passengers exited the vehicle. Emergency responders extricated Huff and another passenger.

Huff suffered a laceration to the face. The other passengers, Emily Berman, 17, and Baily Turner, 18, of Windsor and Veronica Garcia, 20, of Santa Rosa, suffered minor injuries, CHP said. They were transported to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

The crash briefly closed Highway 29 in both directions. The collision is under investigation, CHP said.